Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Idaho Senate panel backs permitless concealed-carry gun bill

BOISE – New legislation to let Idahoans age 21 or
over carry concealed guns without permits inside city limits cleared a
Senate committee Monday on a 6-3 vote.

Rich Chaney of the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance told senators,
“This is really a common-sense gun bill. …It’s perfectly legal to
open-carry right now anywhere in the state.” But, he said, “If you put
on a coat, now you’re a criminal.”

At a two-hour hearing on Monday morning, eight people spoke against the bill, SB 1389, including Boise Police Chief Bill Bones; 14 spoke in favor of it.

“I will tell you, our crimes in the city, I’ve never had a crime
committed by somebody that was doing an open carry,” Bones told the
Senate State Affairs Committee. “It’s somebody carrying a concealed
weapon.”

Currently, people can’t get a concealed-weapon permit if they’re drug
addicts, severely mentally ill or a convicted felon, Bones noted. “All
of those are contained still within the language, but there’s no
realistic way for an officer to implement that in the field.”